Monday, 14 May 2012

Pattern: Birthday Present Frilled Apron

Hi Everyone!!! Happy Monday!! So today instead of a pattern of the day like I normally do, I am going to publish one of my own designs for you all to knit. I knit this for my mum's birthday and it is a great apron. My mum loves waist aprons- so no bib, and I always buy, or make, or knit one for her at least once a year. I have sewn them and knit them, and this is the pattern for my frilled apron. Here it is- being fetchingly modelled by my mum- now I know she doesn't like this photo so I apologise now, but its the only one I've got, so I'll replace it when she takes a new one!! (nothing like a bit of parental bribery!!)

So this is knit in Sirdar Juicy, a DK yarn made from 80% Bamboo and 20% cotton. It is therefore pretty absorbent and of course washable- which really is a good thing for an apron. I used some cotton fabric for the ties and sewed the apron to the cotton across the top. There are plenty of other absorbent and washable yarns, I would recommend anything with a cotton content, they have a good drape like this one too.

You knit the main piece and frill in one go and then sew on a pocket and pocket frill separately. You could miss out the pocket if you don't need/want one.

So You Will Need

Approximately 4 balls of Sirdar Juicy (95m per ball) in orange, and 1 ball in a contrast colour, here it is pink.

4mm needles

Cotton Fabric for ties

Needle for sewing up.

Abbreviations

sts- Stitches

K- Knit

gt st- garter stitch (knit every row)

kfb- knit into the front and back of the stitch, to increase

Pattern

Main Piece

Cast on 80 stitches in main colour

Garter Stitch (Knit every row) until piece measures 14 inches or 35cm or until your desired length. (14 inches came to my mum's mid thigh and she has long legs so you might want to go a bit longer)

Change to second/contrast colour**

Row 1: Knit

Row 2: Knit

Row 3: K

Row 4: K

Row 5: Kfb in every stitch (160 sts)

Rows 6-8: K

Row 9: *K1, kfb* to end (240 sts)

Rows 10-12: K

Cast off K wise

Pocket- Optional

Cast on 40 stitches in main colour

Garter Stitch (knit every row) to desired length for your pocket (on the one above it was 6 inches)

Cast off

Sew to front of apron

Frill for Pocket

Cast on 40 sts

Follow the main pattern from ** to end to create frill.

Sew the frill to the front of the pocket.

For the ties, I used a strip of gingham cotton and sewed it to the back of the apron to give long ties. You can knit ties by casting on the number of stitches you need for width- around 10-15 should be perfect, and then garter stitch until they are the right length for you. If you do make sure you strengthen the ties with some cotton fabric to prevent them over stretching.

I hope you like the pattern and enjoy knitting it. It is a beginners pattern, and should be easy to do. Email or comment if you have any problems, and I'll do my best to sort them out. I have not had this pattern tested, so let me know if there are any problems.